Bottle cap with a lock

ABSTRACT

A bottle cap with a lock has a hollow barrel, a plug received into the hollow barrel, a ring provided under the plug, and a fastener. When a bottle neck is mounted with the bottle cap with the lock and the plug rotates relative to the hollow barrel via a key, the fastener slides upwardly adjacent to the plug thereby compressing against the ring to expand to lock the bottle. When rotating the key backwardly, the fastener slides downwardly opposed to the plug thereby the ring being shrunk to get back to an original status so that the ring and the fastener can be taken off from the plug easily for cleaning.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a bottle cap with a lock, and moreparticularly to a bottle cap which can be locked on a re-seal bottle toprevent drinking by mistake or by purpose, or being poisoned by others,and which can be cleaned conveniently.

2. Description of Related Art

A conventional bottle cap such as a cork is used to seal a bottle neckfor wine or beverage. When the drink is not completely consumed, it isnot convenient for a drinker to re-seal the bottle neck with the bottlecap.

When people exercise together and their refreshment bottles are groupedtogether, it is difficult for those people to find their individualbottles and this may pose a health risk.

When the re-seal wine is stored in a hotel, it is easy to be drunk bymistake or by purpose, i.e., the opened bottle is accessible by childrenor, a person may secretly drink another person's wine.

When the re-seal beverage is put in the public, it is easy to be drunkby mistake or by purpose or be poisoned.

When the re-seal chemical is stored in the chemical factory or in thelaboratory, it is easy to be used or taken by mistake.

When the re-seal medicine is stored in the hospital, it is easy to betaken or mixed by mistake.

A further situation concerning caps of bottle-like containers is that achild may take medicine in error when the bottle cap for the medicinebottle is not locked.

Therefore, the invention provides a bottle cap with a lock to mitigateor obviate the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main objective of the present invention is to provide a bottle capwith a lock which can be locked on a re-seal bottle to prevent drinkingby mistake or by purpose, or being poisoned by others, and which can becleaned conveniently.

A bottle cap with a lock comprises:

a body having a hollow barrel and a plug which is received into thehollow barrel, a hole defined in a lower end of the body, a keywaydefined in an upper end of the body, whereby the plug rotates relativeto the hollow barrel when a key is received and rotated in a keyway;

a ring having an opening defined in a center thereof and provided underthe body; and

a fastener with an inverted T-like cross section provided under the ringand having a shaft upwardly formed in a center thereof whereby the shaftis inserted into the opening and the hole in turn to connect to the plugso that the shaft can slide in an axial direction relative to the hollowbarrel with the rotation of the plug;

whereby when the ring is inserted into a bottle neck and the plugrotates relative to the hollow barrel via the rotation of the key in afirst direction, the fastener slides upwardly adjacent to the plugthereby compressing against the ring to expand so that an outer wall ofthe ring securely attaches to an inner wall of the bottle neck to lockthe bottle; when the key is rotated in a second direction opposed to thefirst direction, the plug rotates and the fastener slides downwardlyopposed to the plug thereby the ring can resume its originalpre-expanded status so that the present invention can be separated fromthe bottle neck; when continuing rotating the key in the seconddirection, the shaft separates from the hole and the opening, the ringand the fastener can be taken off from the plug for cleaning. Hence, thebottle cap with the lock is easy to use and has a simple configuration.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description when takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a first preferred embodimentof a bottle cap with a lock in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the first preferred embodimentof the bottle cap with the lock in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment of thebottle cap with the lock in accordance with the present invention beingprovided on a bottle neck;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment of thebottle cap with the lock in accordance with the present invention beinglocked on the bottle neck;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a second preferred embodimentof a bottle cap with a lock in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the second preferred embodiment of thebottle cap with the lock in accordance with the present invention beinglocked on the bottle neck;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a third preferred embodimentof a bottle cap with a lock in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the third preferred embodimentof the bottle cap with the lock in accordance with the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the third preferred embodiment of thebottle cap with the lock in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a fourth preferred embodimentof a bottle cap with a lock in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIGS. 1-3, a first preferred embodiment of aneasy-clean bottle cap with a lock comprises a body (10), a ring (20) anda fastener (30).

The body (10) has a hollow barrel (110) and a hole (111) is defined in acenter of the hollow barrel (110). An arcuate cutout (112) is laterallydefined in an inner wall of a middle portion of the hollow barrel (110)and multiple slots (130) are evenly and longitudinally defined in anupper portion of the inner wall of the hollow barrel (110). A plug (120)is received into and mated with the hollow barrel (110). A keyway (121),into which a key (51) can be inserted, is defined in an upper end of theplug (120), and at least one lug (122), which corresponds to and isengaged with the cutout (112), is formed on a periphery of the plug(120). Multiple latch tabs (230), which are respectively supported bysprings, are respectively formed on an upper periphery of the plug (120)in a row and mated with one of the slots (130) whereby the multiplelatch tabs (230) can be respectively extended into the plug (120)thereby the plug (120) being rotated in the hollow barrel (110) when thekey (51) is inserted and rotated in the keyway (121).

The ring (20), made of a resilient material such as rubber, is mountedunder the body (10) and an opening (21) is defined in a center thereof.

The fastener (30), a lower periphery of which is bigger than an upperperiphery of the fastener (30), is provided under the ring (20), has ashaft (31) that extends upwardly from the center of the lower endthereof. The shaft (31) is inserted into the opening (21) and the hole(111) in turn thereby connected to the plug (120), so that the shaft(31) can move in an axial direction when the plug (120) rotates.

The shaft (31), which is configured to mate with the hole (111) and hastwo flat portions (32) formed on an upper end thereof and opposed toeach other and two threaded portions (33) formed on the upper endthereof and spacing the flat portions (32).

A flange (113), an outer diameter of which is slightly bigger than thatof the hollow barrel (110), is formed on and radially extends from thelower end of the hollow barrel (110). A threaded hole (125) is definedin a lower end of the plug (120) and thereby can be mated with thethreaded portion (33).

In assembly, the latch tabs (230) pressed by the springs are mounted onthe periphery of the hollow barrel (110) and the plug (120) is insertedinto the hollow barrel (110) so that the at least one lug (122) can bereceived into the cutout (112) and the plug (120) can be rotated in thehollow barrel (110) without being separated from the hollow barrel(110). Then, the shaft (31) is inserted into the opening (21), the hole(111) and the threaded hole (125) in turn to complete the assemblyprocedure.

With reference to FIGS. 2-4, when the first preferred embodiment of thepresent invention is used, the body (10) is mounted on a bottle neck(50) to enable the fastener (30) and the ring (20) to be inserted intothe bottle neck (50). The latch tabs (230) are respectively engaged withone of the slots (130) so that the plug (120) can not rotate relative tothe hollow barrel (110). When the key (51) is inserted and rotated inthe keyway (121), the latch tabs (230) are extended into an interior ofthe plug (120) via multiple serrations (52) of the key (51) andtherefore, the latch tabs (230) separate from the slot (130) and theplug (120) rotates relative to the hollow barrel (110). Additionally,the shaft (31) is configured to mate with the hole (111) so that theshaft (31) does not rotate in a radial direction relative to the body(10). When the plug (120) rotates due to the key (51) in a firstdirection, the shaft (31) moves upwardly with the threaded portion (33)corresponding to the threaded hole (125) and the cooperation of the hole(111) so that the ring (20) is compressed to expand. Hence, an outerwall of the ring (20) securely attaches to an inner wall of the bottlethereby sealing the bottle. Furthermore, the sealing extent depends onthe adjacent extent of the body (10) and the ring (20).

Additionally, by rotating the key (51) and the plug (120) backwardly ina second direction opposed to the first direction, the ring (20) movesdownwardly to return to an original status and therefore, the presentinvention can be easily removed from the bottle.

Furthermore, by rotating the plug (120) in the second direction, whenthe threaded portion (33) is separated from the threaded hole (125) andthe shaft (31) is separated from the plug (120), the ring (20) and thefastener (30) can be cleaned separately and conveniently.

With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, a second preferred embodiment of thepresent invention is similar to the first preferred embodiment exceptthat the flange (113) is not integrally formed under the barrel (110)thereby simplifying the configuration of the barrel (110). An anti-dusthead (150) is provided under the barrel (110) and two protrusions (151)are respectively formed in an inner wall of the head (150). Two gaps(119) are respectively defined in a lower outer wall of the barrel (110)to mate with the protrusions (151). The head (150) also can be detachedfrom the barrel (110) and cleaned conveniently. A hole (111′) is definedin a center of the head (150). The flat key (51) and a barrel-like key(51′) described in the preferred embodiment are limited in suchconfiguration and may be all other keys with different configurations.

With reference to FIGS. 7-9, a third preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, which is similar to the first preferred embodiment, iscomposed of a body (10′), a ring (20) and a fastener (30), except that aplug (120′) is mated with a barrel-like key (51′).

The body (10′) has a hole (111) defined in a lower center thereof and anarcuate cutout (112) defined in an inner wall of the hollow barrel(110). At least one stopping edge (114) is formed adjacent to the innerwall of the hollow barrel (110). A seat (115), which is securely mountedwith the stopping edge (114), has multiple lower orifices (116) definedin an evenly radial direction thereof. Multiple coil springs (117) andmultiple lower pins (118) are respectively received into the orifices(116) in turn. The plug (120′), which is received into the hollow barrel(110), has an arcuate keyway (121′) defined in an upper end thereof, andthe barrel-like key (51′) is mated with the keyway (121′). At least onelug (122), which is formed on a periphery of the plug (120′), isreceived into the cutout (112) and multiple upper orifices (126) aredefined in an interior of the plug (120′) and in a radial direction andmultiple upper pins (128) are respectively received into the upperorifices (126).

In assembly, the springs (117) and the lower pins (118) are respectivelyreceived into the lower orifices (116) in turn, and then the plug(120′), into which the upper pins (128) are respectively received, isengaged with the seat (115). The seat (115) with the plug (120′) isreceived into the hollow barrel (110) to enable the at least one lug(122) to be mated with the cutout (112) so that the plug (120′) can onlyrotate relative to the hollow barrel (110) without separating from thehollow barrel (110). When the third preferred embodiment is locked, thelower pins (118) are provided in both of the lower and the upperorifices (116, 126) via the springs (117) so that the plug (120′) cannot rotate relative to the hollow barrel (110). When the key (51′) isinserted and rotated in the keyway (121′), serrations (52′) compressagainst the upper pins (128) to move downwardly thereby pushing a jointof the lower pins (118) and upper pins (128) to move a contact side ofplug (120′) and the seat (115) so that the plug (120′) can be rotatedrelative to the hollow barrel (110) via the rotation of the key (51′).Other action steps of the third preferred embodiment are similar tothose of the first preferred embodiment.

With reference to FIG. 10, a fourth preferred embodiment is similar tothe first and the third preferred embodiment except that a threadedelement (129) is provided on a lower end of the plug (120′) and a shaft(31′) corresponding to the hole (111) has two sliding portions (32′)formed on an upper end thereof and opposed to each other, and a threadedaperture (34) defined on an upper end of the shaft (31′). The actionsteps of the fourth preferred embodiment are similar to those of thefirst and the third preferred embodiment.

Hence, the bottle cap with a lock is composed of the body with therotated plug, the ring and the fastener. Not only is the presentinvention of a simple configuration and easily cleaned, but alsoprovides safety and health measures. It is appreciated that the presentinvention processes the novelty, the inventiveness and the practicalapplicability with the obvious and concrete functions thereby accordingto the invention patent and being applied.

1. A bottle cap with a lock comprises: a body (10, 10′) having a hollowbarrel (110) and a plug (120, 120′) which is received into the hollowbarrel (110), a hole (111,111′) defined in a lower end of the body (10,10′), a keyway (121, 121′) defined in an upper end of the body (10,10′), whereby the plug (120, 120′) rotates relative to the hollow barrel(110) when a key (51, 51′) is received and rotated in a keyway (121,121′); a ring (20) having an opening (21) defined in a center thereofand provided under the body (10, 10′); and a fastener (30) providedunder the ring (20) and having a shaft (31,31′) upwardly formed in acenter thereof whereby the shaft (31,31′) is inserted into the opening(21) and the hole (111,111′) in turn to connect to the plug (120,120′)so that the shaft (31,31′) can slide in an axial direction relative tothe hollow barrel (110) with the rotation of the plug (120, 120′);whereby when the ring (20) is inserted into a bottle neck (50) and theplug (120, 120′) rotates relative to the body (10,10′) via the rotationof the key (51, 51′) in a first direction, the fastener (30) slidesupwardly adjacent to the plug (120, 120′) thereby compressing againstthe ring (20) to expand so that an outer wall of the ring (20) securelyattaches to an inner wall of the bottle neck to lock the bottle; whenthe key (51, 51′) is rotated in a second direction opposed to the firstdirection, the plug (120,120′) rotates and the fastener (30) slidesdownwardly opposed to the body (10,10′) thereby the ring (20) can resumeits original pre-expanded status so that the present invention can beseparated from the bottle neck; when continuing rotating the key (51,51′) in the second direction, the shaft (31) separates from the hole(111,111′) and the opening (21), the ring (20) and the fastener (30) canbe taken off from the plug (120, 120′) for cleaning.
 2. The bottle capwith the lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein a flange (113) is formed onand radially extends from the lower end of the hollow barrel (110). 3.The bottle cap with the lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shaft(31) is inserted into the hole (111,111′) whereby the shaft (31,31′)moves upwardly or downwardly in an axial direction rather than rotate ina radial direction, the hole (111,111′) is defined in a lower end of thehollow barrel (110).
 4. The bottle cap with the lock as claimed in claim1, wherein an anti-dust head (150) is provided under and detachablyattached to the barrel (110); and the hole (111′) is defined in a centerof the anti-dust head (150) to allow the shaft (31,31′) move upwardly ordownwardly in an axial direction rather than rotate in a radialdirection.
 5. The bottle cap with the lock as claimed in claim 1,wherein the shaft (31) is configured to mate with the hole (111,111′)and has two flat portions (32) formed on an upper end thereof andopposed to each other and two threaded portions (33) formed adjacent toand spaced the flat portions (32).
 6. The bottle cap with the lock asclaimed in claim 2, wherein the shaft (31) is configured to mate withthe hole (111,111′) and has two flat portions (32) formed on an upperend thereof and opposed to each other and two threaded portions (33)formed adjacent to and spaced the flat portions (32).
 7. The bottle capwith the lock as claimed in claim 4, wherein the shaft (31) isconfigured to mate with the hole (111,111′) and has two flat portions(32) formed on an upper end thereof and opposed to each other and twothreaded portions (33) formed adjacent to and spaced the flat portions(32).
 8. The bottle cap with the lock as claimed in claim 1, wherein theshaft (31′) is configured to mate with the hole (111,111′) and has twosliding portions (32′) formed on an upper end thereof and opposed toeach other, and a threaded aperture (34) defined on an upper end of theshaft (31′).
 9. The bottle cap with the lock as claimed in claim 2,wherein the shaft (31′) is configured to mate with the hole (111,111′)and has two sliding portions (32′) formed on an upper end thereof andopposed to each other, and a threaded aperture (34) defined on an upperend of the shaft (31′).
 10. The bottle cap with the lock as claimed inclaim 4, wherein the shaft (31′) is configured to mate with the hole(111,111′) and has two sliding portions (32′) formed on an upper endthereof and opposed to each other, and a threaded aperture (34) definedon an upper end of the shaft (31′).
 11. The bottle cap with the lock asclaimed in claim 5, wherein a threaded hole (125) is defined in a lowerend of the plug (12020′), and the threaded hole (125) corresponds to andis engaged with the threaded portions (33).
 12. The bottle cap with thelock as claimed in claim 6, wherein a threaded hole (125) is defined ina lower end of the plug (12020′), and the threaded hole (125)corresponds to and is engaged with the threaded portions (33).
 13. Thebottle cap with the lock as claimed in claim 7, wherein a threaded hole(125) is defined in a lower end of the plug (12020′), and the threadedhole (125) corresponds to and is engaged with the threaded portions(33).
 14. The bottle cap with the lock as claimed in claim 8, wherein athreaded element (129) is provided on a lower end of the plug (120,120′)and is screwed into the threaded aperture (34) in the shaft (31′). 15.The bottle cap with the lock as claimed in claim 9, wherein a threadedelement (129) is provided on a lower end of the plug (120,120′) and isscrewed into the threaded aperture (34) in the shaft (31′).
 16. Thebottle cap with the lock as claimed in claim 10, wherein a threadedelement (129) is provided on a lower end of the plug (120,120′) and isscrewed into the threaded aperture (34) in the shaft (31′).